Page 83 of Ice Cold Heart

“Is that a baby duck?” I whispered, worried I’d scare it. “How?”

Gavin ran a hand through his hair. “Remember how Henry keeps disappearing? She must have found a way to get to the duck pond. Or she lured her suitor to our backyard. Either way, she managed to hide an egg long enough for it to hatch.”

“Don’t birds have to lay on their eggs to get them to hatch?” Reece pointed out.

Eva cuddled Henry, who let out an indignant quack. “She’s been gone for long periods of time. I assumed she found a fun new place to sleep, but she must have been down here on her little nest.”

“That nest is last year’s jersey and a bunch of my socks,” Mase grumbled.

Eva shared an apprehensive look with Gavin. “We can’t take the baby with us when we move out. The apartment we found is already uncomfortable with one duck.”

Reece stood there with his hands on his hips, surveying the mess. “I knew I should have had a talk with her about responsible sex. We should check to make sure there aren’t any more eggs hidden somewhere else.”

“What do you normally do with her eggs?” I wondered out loud.

“Eva collects them and gives them to a local food bank. It’s another reason for Henry’s diapers. She has enough room to lay in there and then we’re not searching the house for the one rotten egg we missed. Once was enough, thank you.”

Reece shuddered at the memory. “Nope. We’re not talking about that.”

Mase glared at us from his position on the floor. “Can you idiots focus please? Henry couldn’t lay on two nests and there’s only one egg here, hatched or otherwise. What are we going to do with the little one?”

“Not it,” Reece immediately shouted.

The baby made a squeaky, whistling noise and scuttled under Mase’s leg.

Eva joined Mase in glaring at him. “No one volunteered you to take care of my grand-duckling.”

“Please don’t refer to it that way,” Gavin muttered.

Cole sent me a questioning look, but I shook my head. I wasn’t ready to be a duck mom. Henry was enough of a handful.

Mase sighed and gently pulled the fluffy little creature out from under him. The baby squished down to a little ball and closed its eyes with a tiny peep. Mase rubbed its head with one finger then let out a deep sigh.

“I’ll take care of it.”

Henry quacked again, and Eva put her down next to the makeshift nest. “I can show you what to do. I imagine it’s easier when you have a mama duck around. We need to name it though. Something neutral. Trust me.”

“I’ve always liked Georgiana,” Reece offered.

Eva tilted her head at him. “What part of neutral did you miss?”

“We could call it George if it’s a boy.”

“Henry and George? What are we, British royalty?”

Reece shrugged. “You’re the one who named your girl duck Henry.”

Cole glanced at Gavin as if to ask if he was going to intervene, and Gavin shook his head no.

Eva narrowed her eyes at Reece. “I was not the one who named Henry, but she loves her name.”

“Then what’s wrong with?—”

“Sunshine.”

All of us turned to stare at Mase and the spot of yellow almost lost in his hands. Henry stared at him too, seemingly content to have a giant human holding her baby.

“Its name is Sunshine,” Mase repeated.